Razor-strop holder.



J. T. STUTLER.

RAZOR STROP HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE a, 191s.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

lplll.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

JOSPH TIDD STUTLER, OF JANELEW, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSlGrNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 ROBERT B. SWARTZ, 0F JANELEW, WEST VIRGINIA.

RAZOR-STIRO? HOLDER.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

Application lled June 3, 1918. Serial No. 771,569.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH Tim) S'rirr- LER, citizen of the United States, residing at J anelew, in the county of Lewis and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Razor-Strop Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to razor stropping devices and particularly to that form of strop comprising a stropping strap which is adapted to be attached at one end t o a support, the other end of the strop belng held in the hand. This class of strops are ordinarily more or less permeated with oil, or like material, towhich dust is Very liable to stick. It is obvious that dust upon the strop will injure or damage its stropping qualities and that it is advisable to provide means for preventing dust collecting upon the strop.

The primary obJect of my invention, therefore, is the provision of a casing in which the strop may be contained, and from which it may be Withdrawn, when it is desired to be used, and in this connection to provide means whereby the strop may be drawn into the casing when released.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a spring disposed within the casing for drawing the strop into the casing or housing, and in this connection-the provision of means for holding the strop in its extended position, which means, however,

are releasable by the finger of the operator to permit the strop to be withdrawn into the casing.

A further object of the invention 1s the provision of a very simple, cheaply made and effective housing and holder for strops so constructed that the strop may be readily removed for replacement by a new strop, and so formed that the mechanism may be readily accessible.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the strop holder, the strop being shown as partly withdrawn from the holder. Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the strop housing, the winding spring, the winding drum, and the pawl and ratchet mechanism. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3.of. Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective detail View of the winding barrel and ratchet wheel, with the C orresponding and like parts are referred to 1n the following description and indicated in all `the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

Referring to these drawings, 2 designates a cylindrical casing or support, open at its opposite ends. One end of this casing is formed with a bead designated 3 (see Fig. 2), which is rabbeted upon its outer face, as at 4E, the wall of the rabbet being screwthreaded for engagement with a screwthreaded cap 5, this cap having a central bearing opening designated 6, for a purpose to be later stated.

The bead 5 may be formed upon the end of the cylindrical casing 2 in any suitable manner. The other end of the cylindrical casing 2 is provided with a detachable ring 7, the inner face of which is rabbeted as at 8, so as to fit within a rabbeted flange 9 forming the end of the casing 2, and is screw-threaded therein.

The outer face of the ring is rabbeted and and one wall of the rabbet is screw-threaded, as at 10 to engage with a screw-threaded cap 11, provided with a shaft-seat 12.

Attached to the ring 7 is a partition-plate 13 which together with the cap 11 forms a spring-chamber 14 within which is disposed the coil-spring 15. The outer end of this spring is attached to the ring 7 by means of screws 16, while the other end of the spring is attached to the reduced end 17 of a spindle 18, or shaft, by means of a pin 19. The reduced end of the shaft 18 projects through a central opening in the partition 13 and the extremity of the portion 17 of this shaft is further reduced and projects through the bearing opening 12. The shaft or spindle 18 is square in cross-section, except as regards the portion 17 which is round. The end of the shaft 18 opposite the portion 17 is reduced as at 2O and is 4round so as to pass through the bearing opening 6. The shaft is rotatably supported in the bearing openings 12 and 6.

The casing 2 is transversely slotted as at 21 for the passage of the strop 22. This strop as illustrated, is a double strop, that is, formed in two thicknesses and is looped over the squared portion of the shaft 18, as

shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The strop passes out through the opening 21.

Surrounding the squared portion of the shaft 18 is a circular barrel or element 23 which forms a winding barrel over which the-strop is adapted to be wound. This barrel 23 is closed at its ends as at 24 and rotates with the shaft. As it rotates, it is obvious that 'the strop 22 will be wound up upon the barrel, the barrel being, of course, slotted, for the passage of the strop.

Assuming that the strop is wound up, it is obvious that when the strop is drawn out the spring will be tightened up and that vwhen the strop is released, the spring Will act to draw the strop back into the casing 2 and Wind it upon the barrel It would be of course, a nuisance to exert a constant pulling action upon the strop against the force of the spring 15, and hence I provide a latching device, whereby the strop may be held in its extended position,

or released to permit of the retraction of the strop by the spring. To this end the winding drum 23 is provided at one end with a ratchet-wheel 25 and adapted to engage with this ratchet-wheel is a pawl 26 pivoted intermediate its ends as at 27 and having a detent tooth 28 at one end and a pin 29 at its other end. This pin 29 projects out through the bead or ring 3 in position to be convenient to the hand of the operator. Disposed beneath the pin end of the pawl 26 is a finger 30 which is mounted upon a pin and which is engaged by a spring 31. This spring acts to constantly force the free end of the finger 30 outward and therefore force the pawl into engagement with the ratchet-teeth on the wheel 24. lVhen the pin 29 is forced inward, as the detent is released from the wheel 24.-, the spring l5 causes the drum to revolve, thus winding up the strop. The pawl 26 and the linger 30 are disposed within a groove 30 formed in any suitable manner in the ring` 3.

It is of course desirable to prevent any dust from getting into the casing while the strop is being pulled out or retracted, and to this end I provide the doors or iiaps 32, which are disposed parallel to and on each side of the slot 21, and which are hinged. The point of attachment of the gates or flaps 32 to the wall of the casing, is nearer to the slot than the width of the iiaps or gates, and hence the iaps when bearing against the strop and the strop is in its natural position, will extend downward and inward at 'an acute angle. When, however, the strop is drawn to one side, or the other, the doors or flaps will be caused to follow the movement of the strop by means of the springs 33, which may be made in any suitable manner, but as shown, are supported upon the butts 34 of the hinges, whereby the flaps are secured to the casing.

The casing 2 is provided upon its upper side with a yoke 35 to which is attached a loop 36, whereby the casing may be hung upon any suitable support and the lower end of the strop is .provided with a crossbar having a loop 37.

It will be seen that my invention is very simple, that the strop is entirely housed and protected from dust, at all times, and is readily Withdrawn from the casing when it 1s desired to use it, and as readily retracted into the casing after use. Not only will the strop last longer under these circumstances dust, it will retain its stropping'qualities longer than a strop which is not properly housed or protected.

By unscrewing the ring 7` and the cap 5, the drum may be entirely withdrawn from the housing, leaving the shaft 18 in the casing. The withdrawal of the drum will of course, withdraw the bight of the strop from the shaft. Thus, the old strop may be removed from the shaft or spindle 18 and a new one replaced thereon, after which, the parts may be reinstated in their original position without diiliculty. By removing the cap 11 access may be had to the spring 19 so that the spring may be replaced. The spring is tightened by winding the strop up upon the drum, placing the drum and the wound strop v within the jcasing, and then by drawing out upon the strop the spring will be tightened up or placed under tension.

It will be seen that the barrel 23 holds the strop upon the shaft or spindle 18, and as this shaft or spindle-is square it will prevent any creeping of the strop. R

While I have illustrated what I believe to be the best form of my invention, I do not wish to limit myself thereto, as it is obvious that it may be varied in many ways, without departing from the scope thereof.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is 1. A razor strop holder comprising a cylindrical longitudinally slotted casing, a winding spring containing compartment at one end detachably engaged with the casing, a spring contained within said compartment, a detachable cap at the other end, a shaft supported at one end in the spring compartment and engaged with said spring, said detachable cap at the other end of the casing also beingv adapted to support said shaft, a drum mounted to rotate with the shaft and removable from the casing independently of said shaft, and a flexible member operatively connected to the drum and extending out through said slot in the casmg.

2. A razor strop holder comprising a cylindrical longitudinally slotted casing, a winding spring-containing compartment at one end detachably engaged with the casing,

but as the surface will not be covered with lll a spring contained within said compartment, a detachable cap at the other end, a shaft supported at one end in the spring compartment and engaged with said spring, said detachable cap at the other end of the casing also being adapted to support said shaft, a drum mounted to rotate with the shaft and removable from the casing independently of said shaft, a flexible member operatively connected to the drum and extending out through said slot in the casing, and manually releasable means for operatively engaging the drum to prevent its reverse operation by the spring.

3. A razor strop holder including a cylindrical longitudinally slotted casing, open at both ends, an annular spring-frame screwthreaded into one end of the casing, a coilspring inclosed within said frame, a cap closing said frame and having a central bearing, a shaft supported at one end in said cap and connected with the inner end of the spring and extending through the cylindrical casing, a detachable cap in the other end of the casing having a bearing opening for the said shaft, a drum mounted upon and rotatable with the shaft but laterally slidable off' from said shaft, said drum being longitudinally slotted, a ratchet wheel mounted upon the drum, a springactuated pawl mounted upon the casing and engaging said ratchet-wheel against the force of the spring, manually operated means for releasing said pawl, and a flexible member passing into the casing through the slot thereof into the drum and engaging with the shaft.

4. A razor strop holder including a cylindrical casing open at both ends, a spring supported at one end of the casing, av shaft passing through the casing and having one end connected to the spring, a detachable cap at the other end of the casing detachably supporting the like end of the shaft, a ring provided with a groove, said ring forming part of the casing adjacent the last-named end of the shaft, a spring-actuated pawl mounted in the groove in said ring, a pin passed through the ring and operatively engaging the pawl to shift the detent end thereof outward, a drum mounted upon and rotatable with the shaft but laterally shiftable from the shaft, a ratchet-wheel mounted upon the drum with which said pawl normally engages, said drum being longitudinally slotted, and a flexible member having two thicknesses passed through the slot of the casing, through the slot of the drum and embracing the shaft.

5. A holder of the character described comprising a longitudinally slotted casing, a detachable cap at one end of the casing, a cap at the other end of the casing, a shaft operatively supported within the casing, a spring resisting the rotation of the shaft in one direction, a drum mounted to rotate with the shaft and longitudinally slotted, and a flexible member passing through the slot of the casing through the slot of the drum and operatively connected to the shaft.

6. A razor strop holder including a casing formed to receive a flexible element, a removable shaft rotatably mounted upon the casing, a removable winding drum loosely fitted upon the shaft and mounted to rotate therewith, said winding drum being longitudinally slotted, and a flexible element passing through the casing and through the slot formed in said winding drum and loosely connected with the shaft.

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH TIDD STUTLER. [L. 8.]

Witnesses:

C. A. FUNK, HAYE EVANS. 

